U.S. patent number 6,671,582 [Application Number 10/228,248] was granted by the patent office on 2003-12-30 for flexible agricultural automation.
Invention is credited to Brian P. Hanley.
United States Patent |
6,671,582 |
Hanley |
December 30, 2003 |
Flexible agricultural automation
Abstract
Agricultural operations by applying flexible manufacturing
software, robotics and sensing techniques to agriculture. In
manufacturing operations utilizing flexible machining and flexible
assembly robots, work pieces flow through a fixed set of
workstations on an assembly line. At different stations are located
machine vision systems, laser based raster devices, radar, touch,
photocell, and other methods of sensing; flexible robot armatures
and the like are used to operate on them. This flexible
agricultural automation turns that concept inside out, moving
software programmable workstations through farm fields on mobile
robots that can sense their environment and respond to it flexibly.
The agricultural automation will make it possible for large scale
farming to take up labor intensive farming practices which are
currently only practical for small scale farming, improving land
utilization efficiency, while lowering manpower costs
dramatically.
Inventors: |
Hanley; Brian P. (Greenbrae,
CA) |
Family
ID: |
29735510 |
Appl.
No.: |
10/228,248 |
Filed: |
August 26, 2002 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
700/245;
342/357.31; 250/339.11; 250/341.2; 342/463; 348/120; 356/73;
47/1.01R; 47/58.1FV; 700/258; 700/259; 700/264; 701/28; 701/300;
701/41; 701/50; 701/468 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B25J
5/007 (20130101); A01B 79/005 (20130101); B25J
9/162 (20130101); B25J 11/00 (20130101); B25J
5/06 (20130101); A01B 51/02 (20130101); A01B
69/008 (20130101); B25J 5/005 (20130101); G05D
1/0274 (20130101); A01B 76/00 (20130101); G05B
2219/39259 (20130101); G05B 2219/45017 (20130101); G05D
2201/0201 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A01B
51/02 (20060101); A01B 51/00 (20060101); A01B
69/04 (20060101); A01B 79/00 (20060101); B25J
9/16 (20060101); G05D 1/02 (20060101); G06F
019/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;700/245,258,259,264
;701/28,41,50,213,214,215,300 ;342/357.06,357.13,357.17,463
;348/120 ;47/58.1FV,1.1R ;356/73 ;250/339.11,341.2 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Other References
Brewer, Automated devices to grow and transplant seedlines, 90,
IEEE, pp. 243-248.* .
Sistler, Granding agricultural products with machine vision, 90,
IEEE, pp. 255-261.* .
Ito, Agricultural robots in japan, 90, IEEE, pp. 249-253..
|
Primary Examiner: Cuchlinski, Jr.; William A.
Assistant Examiner: Marc; McDieunel
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A flexible agricultural automation for any type of: pruning,
harvesting, weeding, trimming, tying, planting, spraying,
pollinating or other operations on plants, comprising: (a) a mobile
robotic machine mounted on a means of locomotion with controls for
guiding the machine by an operator (b) one or more types of sensing
apparatus mounted on the machine substantially like machine vision,
laser raster scanned three-dimensional mapping, microwave radar,
ultrasonic, infrared, chemical and touch sensors (c) robotic arm or
a plurality of robotic arms mounted on the machine which are
equipped with means for tracking movement of same (d) a means of
decision processing substantially like a computer and/or artificial
intelligence electronics or simulations of same for and control the
movement of robot arm or arms
wherein the sensor data are utilized by the computer and/or
artificial intelligence electronics to decide how to move the robot
arm or arms, as well as guide the machine as a whole when
necessary, wherein the robot arm or arms can have varying
attachments, and the decision processing may refer ambiguous
situations to a human operator for resolution.
2. The flexible agricultural automation of claim 1 may incorporate
a GPS in combination with sensing apparatus to provide a means for
being self-guiding for part of its operational period.
3. The flexible agricultural automation of claim 1 may incorporate
a GPS used in combination with the sensing and computing as a means
to determine the location of plants or other agriculturally
pertinent items.
4. The flexible agricultural automation of claim 1 may incorporate
a component for determining orientation and attitude which
component will be used by the machine for maintaining the machine
in a specified orientation, which orientation may be changeable by
the operator.
5. The flexible agricultural automation of claim 1 may incorporate
a communications module for linking the robot to a station located
elsewhere which communications module may be used to send and
receive information.
6. The flexible agricultural automation of claim 1 can use multiple
sensing methods integrated together for sensing environment,
wherein the combination of sensing provides a means to achieve
robust operation.
7. The flexible agricultural automation of claim 1 can incorporate
devices such as head mounted displays, virtual reality glove
controls, and similar portable devices for display and control.
8. The flexible agricultural automation of claim 1 can incorporate
GPS into the robot armatures to provide a means for locating the
arms of the robot.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
U.S. Pat. No. 5,974,348--System and method for performing mobile
robotic work operations
The current patent references this as prior art. This patent
describes a superficially similar device, but does not contain the
three basic elements to a successful flexible automation system,
namely: (a) sensing, (b) utilization of sensors by computers or
some types of electronics, to (c) adaptively guide robot arms and
machinery. Additionally, this prior art makes use of on the ground
beacons, and does not provide for a human operator as integral to
the operation either locally or remotely.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,052,647--Method and system for automatic control of
vehicles based on carrier phase differential GPS.
The current patent may incorporate this patent for controlling the
attitude of the robot on uneven terrain.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,199,000--Methods and apparatus for precision
agriculture operations utilizing real time kinematic global
positioning system systems.
The current patent improves on this prior art by using a
combination of sensing and computing to refine the position.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,374,538--Vineyard apparatus, system, and method for
vineyard mechanization
The current patent improves on this prior art by using robotics,
sensing and computing or artificial intelligence techniques and
other electronics to provide flexibility and selectivity on a plant
by plant basis. The named patent does this by a large number of
well designed mechanical attachments.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,415,229--System for position determination of
mobile objects, in particular vehicles.
The current patent improves on this prior art by using sensing and
computing for guidance in addition to this system.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
Not Applicable
REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX
Not Applicable
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to the application of integrated flexible
robotics techniques from industry to agriculture, specifically to
the use of robotic armatures, a computer or artificial intelligence
system that can sense and decide before acting on the work object,
alerting a human operator where intervention is required coupled
with, machine vision, laser rastering, radar, infrared, ultrasound,
touch or chemical sensing.
2. Prior Art
The genesis of this invention came with the observation of a
problem in agriculture with labor costs. This was confirmed by
various scholars such as these who stated: "Because of the
increasingly high cost and scarcity of experienced pruners, efforts
have been underway since the late 1960s to mechanize grapevine
pruning in the United States. To date, these efforts have proved
unacceptable because commercial mechanized pruning devices lack
selectivity." [University of Michigan Extension, Pruning Grapevines
in Michigan, Gordon S. Howell & R. Keith Striegler MSU
Department of Horticulture]
This quote summarizes for the viticulture agricultural niche the
problems with purely mechanical methods lacking an intelligent
robotic component that can sense and decide. Many areas of
agriculture today still require large amounts of fairly skilled
labor to plant, cultivate, prune, harvest and spray crops. The
problem is how to accomplish that? This flexible agricultural robot
provides a solution to this class of problem.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,374,538 contains an excellent discussion of the
problems with prior art in the area of refined agricultural
machinery as it relates to viticulture. This discussion summarizes
the drawbacks of a large number of patents granted all of which are
purely mechanical methods. This patent, is, to date, the most
complete work for purely mechanical methods of viticulture
pruning.
All purely mechanical approaches to problems in agriculture such as
vineyard or orchard pruning and harvesting, ground crop harvesting
or weeding suffer from the inability of mechanical methods to
easily adapt to variant conditions without human operator
intervention. Vineyards are able to harvest by mechanical methods,
and many do. However, mechanical methods are not practical for
harvesting of grapes in intact clusters. To date, pruning,
harvesting of intact clusters, suckering and tying of vineyards is
practiced manually virtually without exception. This is extremely
costly for vineyards since it is very labor intensive. The
labor-intensive nature of this type of farming also puts the
farmers at risk from union activity. Similar problems pertain to
fruit orchards, which share a similar business model.
In other situations, for instance in organic farming, weeds must be
removed without use of herbicides. This again, results in the
farmer making use of a large amount of expensive labor. Organic
farming also suffers problems from insect pests that can, in some
cases be controlled during critical parts of their life cycle by
removal of leaves, and affected material. These types of tasks can
never be accomplished by purely mechanical means because purely
mechanical methods are not able to intelligently respond to their
environment on a selective beyond a very simple level of
complexity. In addition, farming in general is receiving greater
and greater pressure to minimize use of chemical methods because of
environmental issues.
There have been devices, such as that of Slaughter and Lamm at UC
Davis in 2000 for machine vision based weed control, which have not
been patented. (Found by a thesis search.) However, their system
did not control a robot arm, but simply controlled a sprayer, which
required precise timing of the motion of the device as it was
dragged behind a tractor. Nor did this system perform any but the
most rudimentary machine vision operations. They did not attempt to
make use of more than one modality for sensing, nor did they
consider any of the other elements that make the present invention
unique such as intelligent integration of the operator or
semi-autonomous limited self guidance during its primary duty
execution.
There are other devices, which have been known for a considerable
period in industrial automation, which couple robot arms with
machine vision for performing tasks, even with a high degree of
selectivity, and flexible robot systems which are trainable and
easily programmable. However, these are not mobile machines, they
are unable to rove around or be steered by an operator. Nor do they
incorporate a communications system which allows the experience of
each machine to be collated so as to improve the performance of
all. Nor, as far as can be determined, have any of these
environmentally responsive robotic techniques have been applied to
agriculture to date. There are other innovations, such as the use
of multiple sensor modalities (i.e. combining machine vision with
radar data to produce a better 3 dimensional mapping of an object)
which are not typically used in industry, but which can be
important in field applications to produce a robust system. Another
innovation is the use of GPS incorporated into the robot arms
themselves as a way of tracking the motion of the robot's arms.
This is a system integration invention, which brings together in a
new way components which are available and used today in various
settings, mostly industrial facilities of various kinds. In
addition to improving the labor situation, it results in new
capacities which are not available now, such as detailed mapping of
croplands traversed. Accordingly, this invention is novel and not
obvious within the field of agriculture.
Some aspects of this invention, such as the use of GPS to track
motion of robot arms are novel within the field of robotics.
Another novel aspect of this invention within the field of robotics
is the use of a communications system connected to the manufacturer
or manufacturer's agent which can be used to collect sensing,
decision and error information so that other robots can make use of
the solutions created for one to benefit all. Current systems for
industry, where they have such communications, use them for
maintenance and diagnostics purposes. A probable reason why this
aspect of the invention would occur for agriculture first is that
robots sold for industrial purposes are sold to widely varying
competitors, who use them to execute proprietary designs and trade
secrets, consequently, such a feature would not be accepted.
Agriculture is structured differently.
It is a highly integrated commodity business with a very high
degree of cooperation between producers. Accordingly, there are
aspects of this invention which are novel and not obvious within
the general field of robotics.
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION--OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES
The overall object of the invention is to provide a means for
replacing human labor on farms in situations where mechanical
designs, which cannot make an intelligent decision, will not work.
The invention is a flexible robot platform which can be
reconfigured by software and changes to attachments. The overall
advantages are primarily--the work can be done with a higher degree
of precision and repeatability (which translates to higher quality)
at a fraction of the current cost. The machine is also flexible and
reconfigurable which makes it more widely useful, as CNC machines
are in industry. And, that the farmer can have a higher level of
information available about his farm than he otherwise would have,
which can be reported to him by the machine. (a) To provide a
system that can sense the precise location of crop plants, their
branches, stems, and trunks and if necessary their internal
structure through the application of machine vision, ultra wide
band radar, ultrasound imaging, infrared imaging, laser rastered
3-D surface mapping, chemical and touch sensors. The integration of
data from one or multiple channels, and the possible iterative
refinement of sensing using multiple means of sensing for areas
identified as critical by the robot is a core element of what makes
this invention useful and practical for farmers. (b) To integrate
the multi-channel data into a three dimensional map of each plant.
This data is then available for the application of algorithms that
can determine where a plant should be cut, sprayed, tied, or
otherwise manipulated. This provision creates a means for
generalized representation. (c) To provide a subsystem which will
determine, based on locations identified in the three-dimensional
map of each plant, how to move a robot arm to that location as
rapidly as possible. The advantage of this subsystem is to make it
eliminate the task of programming each step of the robotic arm
movement as is usually done, replacing it with a simple target
location. (d) To provide a subsystem that will perform a specific
operation with the arm after it has been moved to the location
specified. This operation can be a highly variable scripted
operation. The essence of this object to the invention is its
configurable application to robotics in agriculture. Its advantage
is that it decouples the task of specifying what to do from the
task of getting to the location where the task needs to be done.
(e) To provide a utility subsystem consisting of computers,
artificial intelligence, or fizzy logic electronics in some
combination that can be used to recognize rapidly situations in
which the robot finds itself. This system will fail over to an
operator display that will allow the operator to look at what the
robot is having a problem with so that the operator can provide a
solution to this situation. The utility subsystem may record or
learn from this solution and be able to use it again the next time
that a similar situation is encountered. The advantage of this is
that the robot will gain flexibility as it is used and encounters
novel situations outside of the bounds thought up by the original
system creators. This feature is important to creating a successful
roving robot designed to deal with the variability of plants. (f)
To provide a system that will, both automatically and with operator
intervention, record the location of each crop plant, along with
diagnostic information about the plant. This information is entered
into a database that the farmer can browse to take special action
in his croplands. (g) To provide a system that will alert the
operator when a situation is encountered that the machine is not
entirely sure how to deal with, presenting the information it has
available in an optimized fashion for the operator to figure out
and decide. These decisions of the operator will be recorded and
processed by a learning algorithm. (h) To provide a system which
will allow the operator to see a representation of the field being
worked on, and flag, or make notes for future use, about a
particular plant or location in the field. (i) To provide a
subsystem which will communicate with a central site data
repository via radio, cellular phone, satellite or some other
similar technology. Use this link to report: a. on the crop data.
It also allows the farmer to have his cropland information recorded
in a standard shareable form. This can be an important advantage to
farms in cooperatives and multi-farm operations comprising tens of
thousands of acres across multiple states. b. any learning
overrides that the robot has received from its operator. The
advantage of this is that it enables each robot to be used as a
learning and refinement station for all other robots in use for
that crop. This is a very important advantage for a flexible field
robot to have if it is to be successful. c. on request of the
central site, journal records on the detail operation of the
computer and Al systems on the robot. The advantage of this is that
it allows for iterative refinement of the system using live data
from the field. A major problem with such situations is the
difficulty involved in getting the data necessary to diagnose and
fix problems that arise. d. movement and use of the robot. This
allows the robot to be tracked for liability purposes, and makes it
hard to steal the equipment as well. This provides advantages to
both manufacturer and farmer for insurance purposes. e. self
diagnostic information from the robot. The advantage of this is
that it allows replacement parts and warranty service to be
scheduled based on real information rather than just on a schedule
since reliability is so important for farmers. (j) To provide a
self powered wheeled or tracked platform vehicle that can be
steered by an operator across varying terrain, with the machine
providing leveling and fine guidance so that virtually no steering
at all is required while operating along a crop row. This
simplifies the task of guiding the vehicle greatly, and will
prevent the fairly common occurrence of collision of the vehicle
with crop plants when an operator makes a mistake. It also makes it
possible for the vehicle to be used on a variety of terrain and
maintain itself horizontal to the growth of the plants, thereby
providing a more useful base for attachment of the robotic arms.
This also frees up the operator for the important task of aiding
the robot in performing its intended duties should a situation
arise which the robot is unable to solve. (k) To provide a self
powered platform that is able to record and repeat a track taken
through a field, so that the operator is only required to steer it
to the starting point in the field, after which the self powered
platform takes over. This simplifies the task of operation and
allows the operator to pay attention to exception conditions. (l)
To provide GPS incorporated into the robot arms as a possible means
of tracking their motion.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention, a
robot, with wheels, that contains onboard electronics and sensing
equipment which make it possible for the robot to accurately decide
where to move attached robotic arms and arm attachments either
singularly or as a plurality, which robot can be guided by an
operator over rows of crops. The robot contains computer and
artificial intelligence hardware and software electronics and
algorithms that make decisions customized to each plant or area
that is operated on by the robot. The robot uses one or more means
of sensing its environment, such as machine vision, ultrawideband
radar, ultrasonics, parallax based laser rastering, touch and/or
chemical sensing. Depending on the application, it may require more
than one sensing technology operating together for acceptable field
performance. For example, the robot may require machine vision,
radar, and laser raster devices that utilize parallax on the
reflection of the laser beam, with all three types of data
integrated together by the electronics, to operate reliably in the
field. Additionally, it may be useful for the robot to utilize
touch sensors to confirm its map of the environment it operates in.
Chemical sensors are also useful in some situations to locate and
confirm the identity of an agricultural item.
DRAWINGS--FIGURES
FIG. 1--Schematic view from the right front corner of preferred
embodiment of the invention assembled.
FIG. 2--Explosion view of invention with essential parts.
FIG. 3--Schematic view from right front corner of an alternative
embodiment which has no cab onboard, and uses track assembly
instead of wheels.
FIG. 4--Schematic of an alternative embodiment of operator controls
and display for the invention.
FIG. 5--Schematic of an alternative embodiment which uses multi
tire wheel assemblies and low pressure balloon tires.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION--FIGS. 1 AND 2--PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The robot is a mobile machine which has a location provided for
operator control 4. Steering, displays and override controls for
instructing the robot are located in the cab 5 in the preferred
embodiment.
The machine has steerable legs 20, which can be controlled in a
coordinated manner to steer the robot. On each leg is mounted a
wheel 3 for moving the machine across the ground.
The legs of the robot may be independently controllable for height
2. This enables the robot to move over angled or uneven terrain
while maintaining the sensors and robot arms in a constant
orientation relative to crop plants or relevant agricultural work
pieces.
Inside the body of the vehicle is located an electrical power
supply 19. This is connected electrically to the various
electrically powered components of the machine. Also inside the
main body of the vehicle is located electronics where some of the
computing and similar electronics equipment is placed composed of
computer(s) 13 and artificial intelligence electronics 14 as well
as other ancillary electronics. The electronics cabinet is
connected by appropriate means to the robot arms and sensing
devices. FIG. 2 shows a combination of camera 6, laser raster 7,
ultrasonic sensor 8, radar 9, touch sensor 12, and chemical sensor
11, and the robot may be constructed with one or more of these
alone or in combination in any embodiment. The robot invention may
operate while using one or more of the sensor complement that it is
constructed with at any time. The robot has one or more robot arms
1, used for operating on the crops.
The robot has a communications module 16, and antenna 7 behind the
cab. The communications module is used to send and receive various
kinds of information useful for the machine, the operator, or
farmer.
The robot has a GPS unit or units 15 used for gross location and
recording as it moves, as well as determination of the location of
plants.
The robot may use GPS unit or units in the construction of its
robot arms for tracking of the location of the robot arm 28 as
shown in FIG. 2. This technique can work quite well on a relative
basis after a calibration cycle.
The robot has a means of determining its attitude to a high degree
of precision 18. There are quite a few alternatives for this part
of the robot, including GPS based, gyroscopic, accelerometer and
bubble-level systems.
FIGS. 3 THROUGH 5--ADDITIONAL EMBODIMENTS
The operator's station can be replaced entirely by a wireless
control system as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, with only rudimentary
controls physically located on the main body of the robot. Display
and control mechanism may be portable or wearable, enabling the
machine to be controlled by an operator walking nearby, by means of
various virtual interaction devices. These may include button or
keyboard controls 22, a VR glove 25, a wearable computer 24, a head
mounted display, 23. The wearable computer may possibly incorporate
a projection display, and it may use other types of interaction
devices including machine vision cameras for tracking hand
movements, or EMG devices for monitoring musculature directly.
(This last option would open up the operation of this robot to
people who are severely handicapped, as studies have shown that
people with paralysis are capable controlling remote machinery
using alternative muscles using EMG electrodes.)
FIGS. 3 AND 5--ALTERNATIVE EMBODIMENTS
The invention can have a wide variety of alternative embodiments.
The fundamental configuration could have the operator's station,
which is located in the cab of the primary embodiment a the front
and center, located almost anywhere on the vehicle (Not shown). The
body of the robot may be vertical with the armatures on any side as
shown in FIG. 5. Or the robot may have the body split in two with
the sides connected by some rigid means similar to FIG. 3. The
robot may have a cab 4 of some kind as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, or
it may have some alternative arrangement, perhaps a simple seat
with controls, that is not enclosed.
The machine will have alternatives to the wheels shown in FIGS. 1
and 2. Since such a machine is required in some cases to be used
where the ground is soft, wheels may be replaced with tracks 26
similar to a tank tread as shown in FIG. 3. Additionally, single
wheels may be replaced with multi-wheel assemblies, as shown in
FIG. 5, and/or very low pressure "balloon" type tires 27. All of
these alternative configurations of means for locomotion are
designed to minimize ground abrasion during operation.
The electrical power supply may be a fuel-powered mechanical
generator 19; it may also be a fuel cell or chargeable battery with
a means for charging. Electrical power could also be supplied by
wireless means from a base station to a receiver on the machine
using wireless transmission methods. Electrical power could also be
supplied by high efficiency solar cells arranged in an array over
the top of the machine 21.
The electronics of the sensing system may not use all of the sensor
modalities. An embodiment may exist which uses any one of them, or
any combination of these types of sensors.
OPERATION
Operation of the invention will be simple from an operator's
viewpoint. The operator will seat himself or herself in the cab of
the machine, turn it on, and drive it to the place of work. The
operator will be able to drive the machine forward, backward, or
turn the machine in any direction on the ground.
Once at the place of work, the operator will position the machine
approximately over the start of a row, then signal to the machine
to begin a selected task. The operator will be able to choose the
type of task the machine should perform from a set of tasks which
the machine has been programmed to be able to do and learn.
After the robot starts working on a row, the machine will control
its speed and direction, until the operator uses the brake or an
override cutoff switch. This will allow the operator to concentrate
on making sure that the machine is performing its work correctly.
As the machine operates, it will display to the operator a
representation of the materials it is sensing. It will also show
the operator what decisions the robot has made, and the results of
those decisions. If the machine finds a situation uncertain, it
will stop and alert the operator that it requires intervention,
asking the operator for help completing the task which it is having
trouble with.
When the machine gets to the end of a row, it will alert the
operator and stop running automatically. The operator will then
turn the machine around, roughly center it over the next row, and
continue.
As the machine is operated, at all times it will maintain its
working platform horizontally by using the attitude detection
subsystem. The operator will be able to override this and operate
each leg manually, or else set all legs to some fixed length. But
normal operation will mean that the machine will level itself. As
the driver guides the machine across any terrain, the onboard
electronics and computer system will automatically level it, as it
drives, raising and lowering its legs. By using its leveling legs,
the machine will be able to compensate for holes or bumps for
single or multiple wheels, as well as for hillside terrain.
As the machine moves along a row, it will receive data from its
various sensors. Depending on the crop type and general
requirements, there may be only camera information collected. There
may be radar data as well, used to help map the three dimensional
space, and there may be ultrasonic devices or lasers used as well.
This data is integrated by a computer and electronics subsystem to
develop a three dimensional map of the objects to be operated
on.
Based on the 3 dimensional map of the plant or agricultural work
piece that is produced, the computer system makes a decision as to
where it should move its robot arm or arms, and the operation to be
conducted once a particular arm is moved to the desired position.
The robot arms will then be moved to the location decided upon and
the operation executed. This is done iteratively for all the plants
or workpieces presented, while recording and displaying to the
operator representations of the 3-D map, the decisions and
operation of the robot arms.
DESCRIPTION AND OPERATION OF ALTERNATIVE EMBODIMENTS
The operator of the machine when it is controlled by a wearable or
virtual reality type of device will be able to walk and move around
the machine as long as he is within effective communication range.
This will enable the operator to be more effective in monitoring
the effectiveness of machine operation, as he will be able to walk
behind it, closely inspecting the results of operation.
CONCLUSION, RAMIFICATIONS AND SCOPE OF INVENTION
The invention has wide application within agriculture, where many
areas still require massive amounts of hand labor for operations
from harvesting to tilling. I will not attempt a full accounting
here, but will instead give several widely differing examples,
which this invention can be applied to, as a sampling of how the
machine could be used.
Viticulture--Grapes around the world total over 19 million acres in
production. On all of that acreage, several operations are only
practical with manual labor. Harvesting of intact grape clusters,
pruning of vines, tying of vines to trellises, and suckering
(removal of unwanted growth) There is machinery available for
pruning, as well as suckering, but it has serious problems in
practical use.
Tomato culture--Tomato farms have a serious problem with manual
labor requirements since it is not possible to remove weeds that
grow in the crop line using either disc or spray techniques. This
leads to large hand labor costs.
Organic vegetable farming--All such farming has a serious problem
which is the amount of labor required in order to accomplish weed
control. The labor involved in cultivation of such crops is a major
factor preventing organic farming methods from being used more
widely in agriculture.
This invention will have a very positive effect on many aspects of
agriculture, as it is a basic enabling technology to allow larger
farms to take up the labor-intensive practices of small organic
farms on a practical basis. This represents a new capability that
is not currently present. In sectors where large amounts of labor
have not been possible to eliminate by any means whatsoever, the
invention represents an opportunity to achieve very significant
savings. This invention in its alternative form can make it
possible for disabled people to take up a useful role in
agriculture. With appropriate work using haptic and aural feedback
devices, this invention could be operated by the blind also.
* * * * *